Contributed by: JoKe2KStevie Saint Paul(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on November 17th 2001I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of gruff for this but not only are the Strokes getting a lot of attention lately, they also have a lot to owe to this legendary sound called punk. Maybe you've heard of it.
The media and the press are dying for a successful band to come out of NYC. Especially t.

I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of gruff for this but not only are the Strokes getting a lot of attention lately, they also have a lot to owe to this legendary sound called punk. Maybe you've heard of it.

The media and the press are dying for a successful band to come out of NYC. Especially the artsy types in the UK. The Strokes are fortuntely a good band but unfortunately are crossing the infamous ( which many will call) "sold out" line slowly. Maybe it's not even they're fault.

Help me reminesce here back to 1975 when a scrungy band called the Ramones rocketed out of New York City with remarkable amounts of power and a unique sound that would soon give birth to genre, a style and icons. I love the Ramones; hate the term "sold out". Last time I checked The Ramones "sold out". Did they want world wide recognition? Most likely not.

Now oh yeah, the Strokes. They are in a whole similar position. They got a new sound--some say you heard it before but I guarantee you'll be hearing a lot more bands playing this kind of music. And I guarantee that if they didn't get noticed and remained underground they'd be thrown in with that "emo" category.

Is This It is one of those albums that you slowly realize you like more and more each day. It's also one of those albums you wanna hide from those punk friends that will make fun of you because you're listening to the Strokes. And they play the video on MTV. Every song on here is odd but very good. Julian Casablancas sounds like he wants to sound like Lou Reed. They're grungy looking, girls don't think they're cute, and the stuff they play is a lot better than half the shit you hear on the radio. The punkest song you'll hear is "Take It Or Leave It". Trust me, put the Fat Wreck Cords comp away for a minute and download a couple of these songs...maybe you might like it if you want to hear something a little different for just a second while those punk friends aren't looking. Look for " Hard To Explain", "This Modern Age", "New York City Cops".

Seriously though, this shit has stood the test of time as a great record that crosses several years including punk rock.

At first this band might seem a little unoriginal, but when you actually sit and listen to how tight they are, it manages to put other "math rock bands" who released albums at the time to shame. Seriously, all they do is downstrokes for 4 minute songs.....that shit is fucking crazy.

Anonymous (November 23, 2004)

cool record!

Anonymous (February 27, 2002)

Great album, Great band

Anonymous (December 11, 2001)

hey, nice review, i dont remember reading a whole lot about the cd, though, just reading your opinion on a generic 70s punk/rock(not punk-rock) imitation band who somehow got a record deal, probably the same way radiohead gets such promotion, although, while i dislike them, radiohead is at the least innovative. the strokes are overrated garage rock which, if you lsiten to the music, almost ANYBODY could write. after hearing them built up for a year, its amazing how the hype makes some people rationalize that this group is amazing, and makes some people be left to wonder how such a hyped CD can turn out to be almost nothing in content, originality, and well-developed songwriting. and julian casablancas looks like Aladdin.
personally, i think its hysterical that most of the people who own this album, don't own anything by the velvet underground, iggy pop and the stooges, or a lot of them dont even own any ramones stuff. not that i do, yet, but i dont own this album either, and when i, in the future, want to listen to this style, i'll listen to the bands who started it.

Anonymous (December 10, 2001)

The song "last night" is pretty good i dunno about the rest of the album but whoever put that song is a "rancid ripoff" doesn't know their ass from their elbow so do me a favor and actually listen to rancid before you comment on them

Anonymous (December 10, 2001)

Wihtout fail, the catchiest tunes I've heard in many many moons. As punk sounds more and more monotonous I find this straight out rock band called the strokes interviewed in penthouse and decide to give em a listen...i reviewed a couple of mp3s on my website and hyped their upcoming show in b'ham and apparently someone took notice and mailed me the album along with an autographed glossy, classy guys. zerowillkill.com

Anonymous (December 8, 2001)

thier not horrible but they aren't orginal either...the only art of this generation revolves around sensationalism cause thier simply is no other way to go....this is the stooges, the stones, and velvet underground with sloppy stylin boys looking for some love...this is boring. wo0o. -mary marx bill aww cootie rules.

Anonymous (December 8, 2001)

that last comment was supposed to be 2 stars

Anonymous (December 8, 2001)

i think they ok, but overrated. WAY overrated

if i wanted to listen to the velvet underground i'd listen to the velvet underground

Anonymous (December 7, 2001)

I saw these guys in hartford last week and i was blown away. Sure they get alot of hype, they unfortunately went to England where NME overhypes any exciting american band, look at at the drive in last year. Just forget all that stuff and listen to fucking great rock album.

Anonymous (December 6, 2001)

I love this band, I saw these guys here in NY right before they left for Europe because their CD was selling like crazy over there before they became well known here in the states. They put on an awesome show and Is This It is just one of the best album released this year. Hopefully people in the MTV crowd will suddenly realize what Rock N' Roll really is. My favorite tracks are "Barely Legal", "NYC Cops", "Hard To Explain", and "Is This It".

fuckin' rich boys trying to be rock. man they suck. worse than anything has ever sucked before. end of story. listen to pleasure forever (ex-slaves and the vss) instead bitches.

Anonymous (December 5, 2001)

I this album is good but I wouldnt call this "emo". This is nothing like emo. The Stroke came out of no where and became big. I was suprised when i first saw their video but after hearing "Lastnight" I thought all the songs would sound similar to that one. But it didnt turn out bad like i thought it would. Most songs are catchy and have a good rhyem. These guys seem like an old band but they are great

Anonymous (December 4, 2001)

in the video, it looks like the singer is trying to be joey ramone.

Anonymous (December 4, 2001)

You fucking loser. I reviewed this album months ago, and my review is much better. Moron. My original, and superior review is here: http://www.punknews.org/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=493

Anonymous (December 4, 2001)

Not that bad, but not the "saviors of music" like they've been called. The singer sounds a bit too much like Lou Reed, just not as good songwriter, they're are much better bands from NYC. Just none of them want any attention, the Strokes do.

Anonymous (December 4, 2001)

what the hell is this? first of all, there can't be too much hype if there's only 3 copies of the song on kazaa.... next, why does this song remind my of a two bit shitty version of a rancid song. the only difference is that you can almost understand this guy. but it sounds like he's singing the song when he's asleep or on heroin.. its a very bad ripoff of rancid, but not as heavy. to call this punk may be an exaggeration. on a different note, BRs new record kicks the strokes' ass all the way back to the wannabe hitmachine they came from

i think this album is one of the best things to come out in a while. At first listen it really all does sound the same and i was kinda like "i don't see what's so great" except for a few songs like "last night". The more you listen to the album though, the better it gets. you start being able to distinguish each song from one another, and the album becomes a great one. I don't see how this band could possibly have sold out. this is only their first full-length release, so where did they have the chance to change their sound to be more mainstream. besides, why would they change their sound, everyone likes it as is. I would never hide this from any punks either. It clearly has major punk influence, and if someone doesn't like that i have it, they can kiss my ass. 10 points for the Strokes. this is it.

this record is brilliant. why do people think they have so much hype? for a major lable band its not that much. they are a great band, and this is an amazing record. its not like the ramones. its more like the velvet underground, but much better, and with a punk rock energy.

Anonymous (December 3, 2001)

to sell out you must compromise. i see no compromise in the strokes or the ramones. the ramones mearly got old.

I like that song they released.. I dont even know the name of it. Not a great song but decent. Ill probably download some more and see whats up. The 5 is for the song

Anonymous (December 3, 2001)

NO, this isn't it. while i like the much needed rock simplicity they are bringing to the mainstream, they aren't that good. the Strokes remind me of the bad Clash songs, without expiramentation. it's just boring rock n roll trying to revitalize the 60's, and it didn't work for me.- fathead

Anonymous (December 3, 2001)

Its really not the bands fault that they get all the hype they do. They are a good band, not the greatest thing ever, but a quality act. I like em.